There are many creators that bring the world of KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS to life.
In our eighth installment, we interviewed our lead animator Mr. Kawata from the animation team. In PART 1, we will hear about his style of team management and what his job entails.
[PROFILE]
Name: Masaaki Kawata
Position: Lead Animator
Masaaki Kawata has been with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS since its founding in 2015. A father of two who loves drawing pictures for his children. He recently took an interest in camping, but most of his interest lies with looking the part, and he is now obsessed with camping gear.
*Lead is the name of the leadership position in each team.
Q. What exactly does an animator do?
Kawata: My job is to create animations in our games. There are several types of animation, but in my case, I mainly work on in-game motions. Since the games have features that allow player control, these animations need to be more detailed.
At KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, we use motion capture to create our animations, so for humanoid animations, we process the captured data. In the past, we used to do all the animation by hand without the use of mocap. Because we put poses on the time axis, the more keys you hit, the more detailed the movement gets.
―― So, the amount of time spent on each action was tremendous.
Many animators prefer that style and find it a real pleasure. Even now, many of them want to work on characters that cannot be motion-captured, such as fictional creatures or four-legged animals. However, I do remember there was a company that was able to motion capture horses.
―― Animals? As it is?!
Surprising, isn’t it? I have experience of working with dog motion data, but animal animations are pretty difficult.
I heard from another employee that they can capture basic poses, but if they want to film an attacking dog, for example, they apparently can't make the dog angry. In such cases, they ask for motion capture of the dog playing and then adjust it to make it look like it is barking angrily.
Q. Please tell us what your job as lead animator entails.
Kawata: I have been with KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS since its founding, and I am responsible for my team as a lead animator.
My scope of work ranges from animation asset management, task assignment to team members, project management, and coordinating with external venders. Within the team, each game character is assigned to a different creator, so I leave the basic tasks to those individuals. I usually attend all relevant meetings in order to understand general specifications and so on.
―― As a leader, what kind of interactions do you usually have?
The artist team includes teams for Character, Environment, Effects, Lighting, and so on, so I work with members from all these different aspects of the art direction in the game. And when we’re talking about movement in the game, I need to work closely with the programming team as well.
To give a specific example, if we want to set up a jump motion in the game, I first consult with each team to determine how to make the motion look natural. It might not be feasible to prepare all the jump animations to match all the game landscapes. So, each team considers concerns like, "When the character jumps from this height and falls, let's control the program from this point forward," or "When the character hits the ground, let's return to this animation," and so forth each team would work together with the programmers in charge to create the data. It’s a long process with many steps and involving a lot of people to make the characters' movements look smooth on any landscape.
Q. How did you join Kojima Productions?
Kawata: Originally, I came from a completely different industry. I started working in animation when I was 29, so I might be what you would call a late bloomer. When I was about 25, I became interested in 3DCG, which was trending at the time, so I quit my job and enrolled in a technical school. Most of the students were around the age of 20 or so, and then there was me, this guy who left his previous career behind. Apparently, my enthusiam was completely different compared to those around me. At first, I wanted to do realistic 3DCG. I didn't really think about using motion capture back then, but my interest in doing realistic movements by hand became stronger when I went back to school.
One day, I saw a trailer of a promotional video for one of Mr. Kojima’s works, in which the main character plays musical chairs. I remember thinking that a team that could be this serious about something that had nothing to do with the main game must be amazing.
There happened to be a hiring slot available for outsourced work, so I applied immediately. I was later appointed as a full-time employee in Hideo Kojima's team, and then I joined KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS together with him when he went independent.
―― What was KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS like when it was first founded?
The new KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS started in a temporary office in Ebisu. Despite the inconvenience, it was a lot of fun. We were a small group back then, and it was kind of like being back at school. When we were discussing cutscenes, we would make cardboard figures and shoot it in live-action. We’d move around the figures and say, “Let's make it like this”, or actually move and position ourselves under the direction of Mr. Kojima. I remember how excited I was, even though we didn't know what the game would actually be like.
Q. Tell us how you came to be in a management position.
Kawata: When I was in my previous position, one of the members of Mr. Kojima's team decided to leave, and I was asked if I would like to take over. That’s how it all started.
And I continue to work as a lead animator at KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS as well.
―― So, when you received the offer, how did you feel about it?
I know each company has its own view, but in my mind, the logic was basically this; "The person who is best at motion becomes the leader". I always wanted to be the best at motion myself, so I was willing to do my best if there was a lead position further on in my career.
However, when you think about being a leader under Mr. Kojima, the scope of his team is large, and I felt a kind of invisible anxiety telling me that, "this will not be an ordinary leadership position!" Besides, I actually wanted to pursue motion and become a specialist, so I wasn't interested at first. But, it was a position I had in mind from the beginning, and I thought it was worth the challenge, and here I am.
By undertaking management, I’ve learned to take a step back to look at a situation and give directions more objectively. Also, I’ve had the privilege of accompanying performance capture crews on site and communicating with people from other countries, which is a one-of-a-kind experience that I would not have had in a normal animator position.
Looking back now, I'm glad I took the offer.
【Video】 Mr. Kawata at a performance capture session
Q. What do you keep in mind when managing your team?
Kawata: When deciding who will oversee what in the team, I first listen to the requests of each team member. Generally, I want to let those who raise their hands saying, "I want to do it" work on the tasks. I believe that motivation is the most important when creating anything good.
Take for example the cat animation which appeared in the trailer for "DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH" shown at State of Play in February 2024. One of our new members raised his hand and said he wanted to do it, so I let him take charge of the challenging task.
As I mentioned earlier, animal movement is quite difficult. You can't mocap animals properly, so it’s necessary to observe them quite a bit to do it manually. As you can see from the trailer he met our expectations, and I think he nailed it!
【Image】 The cat in the trailer for "DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH".
Q. Do you see anything in common across all the management positions?
Kawata: In the lead management position, we all have things we obsess over in our respective teams, but we frequently collaborate with each other to come up with solutions. We have naturally created a system where we cooperate, as in, “which department should do this?” and “should we intervene here?” It's good to be flexible on the spot, and we all have one thing in common: we all have an insatiable appetite for craftsmanship in order to produce quality games. That's what makes KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS so unique.
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For more insight into other creative disciplines, be sure to check out our other interviews:
https://kojimaproductions.jp/en/careers_interview
KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS respects each employee's unique work style.
For more information, please check out our HR interview: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/HR-interview
As we grow our team, we have opened several new positions.
Fore more details on our open positions, please visit our CAREERS page on our website:
https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/careers
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